Laura Vandervoort

Words By Bec Doyle | March 16 2021

On our Spring cover shoot at the Win Place Home Rescue, actress, writer, producer and director, Laura Vandervoort, sat down to discuss her bold move to direct her first film My Soul to Take. With 22 years in the industry, starring in cult favorites like Smallville, Bitten, Super Girl, and V Wars, It took the isolation of quarantine and the encouragement of strong talented female filmmakers for Laura to take the brave leap into a new chapter of storytelling and artistic expression.

“During the first quarantine I was really in a dark place, depressed, I couldn't sleep, so I downloaded this sleep app and instead of helping me sleep it gave me the idea for this film,” Laura explains. She spent 13 days or so in quarantine writing the psychological thriller "My Soul To Take" that touches on a number of relevant themes, including isolation, depression, losing our individuality under the pressures of social media and the dark side of technology. “I think I lean more toward dark films, moody films, and real subject matter,” Laura adds. While a lot of her work as an actress has revolved around sci-fi and supernatural genres Laura admits it wasn’t a genre she was naturally drawn to, “I just kind of fell into it,” she says. Writing and producing her own content has served as a way to break away from the usual characters she portrays. “I think I just got to the point where I wanted more control, I wanted to control the content and the story I was telling.”

Once Laura finished writing the script, she sent it to a group of predominantly female filmmakers, including Kim Derko and Jessica Patel, whom she had previously worked with. Laura was genuinely surprised and elated when they all agreed to sign on. Laura had been inspired to direct, after working with director Jessica Patel on the short film Age of Dysphoria, “She really encouraged me, along with other female directors that I spoke to, to step into that position and give it a try.” Laura adds, “I was so excited and also terrified, but overall I think it went really well. It really took a group of strong, empowered, intelligent, artistic, creative women to make me feel comfortable trying it.” Laura explains that it was only recently she began to work with female directors, and until experiencing that, had never thought it was something she could do, “I've only had 3 female directors, which blows my mind. And the fact that I didn't even realize because I hadn't seen it in front of me says a lot about the industry… the minute I worked with my first female director something clicked and I realized, why didn't I think that was a possibility for me?”

Worried a lack of knowledge on the technical side of filmmaking would hold her back, Laura was reassured by her strong network that there are multiple ways to approach directing. As an ‘actors director’ and a ‘visual director', all her experience in front of the camera gave her the tools needed to understand the ‘actors’ language’ and needs. “It was instinct and also my DP kind of holding my hand. I would be able to visually tell her what I wanted, I'd even draw it out for her and she would tell me what lens that would need to be,” Laura explains. “I felt like my mind was on fire the entire time shooting, because I was constantly learning.”

Working on a production during the pandemic meant the extra challenge of raising even more money to ensure all the safety and compliance protocols were met as well as the necessary Covid testing for cast and crew. “We did crowdfunding. I sold off all of my Smallville merchandise to fund the film. And our fans really showed up for us,” Laura explains. With the film currently in post-production, Laura reveals she just saw the first edit of the film yesterday, and shared some insight into the casting process. “Casting was actually the easiest part of the entire process,” Laura says. Envisioning Jenny Raven as Quinn, and good friend Rainbow Sun Franks as the Sandman/Narrator from the get go. For the role of Fred she explains; “I took a shot in the dark… I sent it to [Colin Feore] after working with him and he agreed. So for a first time female director to have someone of his calibre agree to be in your film, was incredible and terrifying.” Laura adds,

And what's ahead for Laura? “Everything!” She says with a laugh. Her fearless and bold outlook is inspiring. After hearing how she pushed through her own fears and self doubt to create a film of such outstanding calibre, as her directorial debut, is even more inspiring. Laura remains grounded despite her huge accomplishments and widespread success, “I'm still in kindergarten in the director's chair. For now I think it's safer to direct my own little ideas and if I start to really fall in love with it, then maybe venture out and see if I can do other projects. But for now I still feel like I'm a fraud,” She laughs. Her self deprecating humor is both endearing and relatable. As women we need more role models like Laura, pushing the boundaries of societal and sometimes our own self-imposed limitations, to pave the way and break the mold. And what's even better is she was able to take this huge step in her career surrounded by a team of incredible female filmmakers, “They were right behind me, over my shoulder, giving me notes, supporting me and I couldn't have done it without them, that's why I think women supporting each other in the industry and lifting each other up is so important,” she says with a smile. ▪